Men's track and field finals guide: Who to watch, and when to watch, for Auburn tonight at the NCAA Championships
Here are all the events for Auburn fans to follow, and the names to know, during the men's finals tonight on ESPN2.
The eyes of the track and field world are on the NCAA Championships this week in Oregon — and, going into Friday night’s men’s finals, Auburn is at center stage.
Auburn junior Ja’Kobe Tharp sent shockwaves through the track world Wednesday in preliminaries when he shattered the world record in the 110-meter hurdles in 12.75 seconds. He broke a world record that had stood for 14 years, and now he’s run faster than even the reigning Olympic champion in the event Grant Holloway — and everyone else, for that matter.
But before he turns any of his focus toward the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028, or the world championships before, Tharp has his eyes set on winning a fourth individual NCAA championship on Friday night, and on helping to push the Tigers to the team title.
The Tigers have a chance, because they’re the best sprint team in the country, loaded with more championship contenders and record-holders than just Tharp. This would be the first team title in program history for the Auburn men.
National finals in the running events are set to be broadcast on ESPN2 starting at 7 p.m. on Friday night.
Auburn enters these top contenders into these events:
Kayinsola Ajayi, 100-meter dash: The Nigerian national record holder, Ajayi is also the reigning NCAA champion in the indoor sprint, and now holds the the top qualifying time going into the outdoor final.
Israel Okon, 200-meter dash: Okon runs both the 100-meter sprint and the 200-meter run, but holds the top personal best among finalists in 200-meters going into Friday’s finals.
Ja’Kobe Tharp, 110-meter hurdles: Tharp won the outdoor individual championship in the 110-meter hurdles last year, and has twice won the 60-meter hurdles championship indoors.
4x100-meter relay: Setting the NCAA record time for the event in Wednesday’s prelims, Auburn’s squad has won the national championship race two years in a row and is going for a three-peat — with two returning starters back from last year’s winning team.
Auburn also has Devin Nugent running in the 400-meter hurdles finals, and has two other finalists in the 100-meter dash who could help pile on much-needed points in the team standings.
Here’s a look at the outlook for the team competition, and who Auburn fans should watch for:
Contending for the team title
Arkansas is the favorite to win this year’s national champion according to the formcharts — which use qualifying marks as if they were results to project the team standings if it all goes to chalk.
Obviously, Tharp has already proven that surprises can happen at the NCAA Championships.
For Auburn to surprise Arkansas, it will likely take a strong performance both from Auburn’s top contenders and its depth pieces. In the last two years, the last two national champions have won the team title with 41 points. If Auburn can win the aforementioned 100, 200, 110 hurdles and 4x100 relay, that’s 40 points right there.
But Arkansas’ deep squad is projected by the formcharts to earn a whopping 71 points this year.
College track and field 101
The top eight finishers in each event at the national championship meet score points toward the team’s total in the team standings. The team with the most points at the end of the meet wins the national team title.
Points are granted as follows:
1st place: 10 points
2nd place: 8 points
3rd place: 6 points
4th place: 5 points
5th place: 4 points
6th place: 3 points
7th place: 2 points
8th place: 1 point
In the team standings, Auburn could use some help from others at nationals to knock Arkansas down a few pegs here and there, but the Tigers can also help themselves by finishing as high as they can with their other qualifiers.
Before the running events begin in prime time, the Auburn men have two throwers competing in the discus at 4 p.m. Central on Friday. Auburn sophomore Kai Twaddle-Dunham enters with the 21st-best personal best of the 24 national finalists, but senior Seth Allen has the 11th-best. If he can raise his personal best on the biggest stage, and get some help, he could jump into the top eight by the end of the event to steal a point or two for the Tigers.
Nugent, a senior for Auburn in the 400-meter hurdles, qualified for the final on time and, while he enters the final with the ninth-best qualifying time from Wednesday, he could grab another point or two for the Tigers if he performs even better in the finals.
